This invention relates to the formation of a strip of laminated sheet material, and particularly to the formation of cigarette tipping paper having a foil strip laminated to the edge thereof.
In the marketing of cigarettes, it is desirable to increase the physical attractiveness of a cigarette to potential consumers. This can be done in many ways, including the application of a metallic foil band or a printed paper band around the cigarette. One way of applying such a band is to apply it to a completed cigarette. However, this is a relatively expensive and slow process which is impractical given the high production rates of modern cigarette making machines.
Application of the foil or paper band can be accomplished by applying a strip of foil or paper to the tipping paper that overwraps the mouth end of the cigarette. If such a strip is applied to a roll of tipping paper before the tipping paper is loaded into the cigarette maker, then the application of the foil or paper band will have no effect on the rate of cigarette production. However, it then becomes necessary to be able to produce sufficient foil or paper strip-laminated tipping paper to supply the cigarette maker. If the rate at which such laminated tipping paper can be made on a laminating machine is low as compared to the rate at which it is used by a cigarette maker, then a larger number of machines must operate to produce sufficient quantities of the laminated tipping paper.
In fact, because most filter cigarettes are made by placing a double-length filter plug between two tobacco rods and overwrapping that assembly with a double-width piece of tipping paper, it is necessary to produce sufficient quantities of double-width tipping paper having a respective foil or paper strip laminated to each half-width section.
Known laminating machines apply foil or paper strips to the opposite edges of a double-width strip of tipping paper at a rate of approximately 200 feet of tipping paper per minute. It is desirable to increase the rate at which such laminated tipping paper can be produced.